In times of darkness
by MurtaghSpamanoGirl
Summary: New York has been taken over by Zombies. Alfred and Matthew now find themself alone in a ruined New York with danger behind each corner. Luckily, they meat Esteban and Antonio Carriedo Fernandez, two brothers who are hunting the zombies with their crew. Can Matthew and Alfred find love, even at a place like this? Pairings CubaXCanada USUK Spamano some PrussiaXCanada among others.
1. Chapter 1

"Come on! You have to move!"  
I couldn't move, as the all too familiar violet orbs stared at me dully.  
"Matthew!" Alfred's desperate voice called.  
What had once been my ex-boyfriend kept moving up at me, blood dripping down his jaw.  
"Fucking run, you idiot!"  
The tall blonde moved up at me, but I still couldn't move, as I stared at the remaining of Yao Wang that was sprawled out on the ground.  
"Matthew! He's not the same Ivan anymore!" Alfred was sounding beyond frantic.  
I tried to move, but to no avail, as emotions flowed over.  
PANG! PANG! PANG!  
Three bullets collided with Ivan's chest, and he flinched, but yet he didn't stop moving at me. And then another bullet collided with his face and he fell to the ground. I turned around quickly, seeing the dark-haired man that had just shot Ivan, as well as the brown-haired man that stood only a few meters away from him, face grim. The dark-haired man lowered his gun with a growl.  
"How fucking stupid are you?" he grumbled, looking between me and Alfred, talking with a thick Spanish accent. "How the heck do you expect to fucking survive out here without a fucking gun?"  
Alfred promptly ignored him and ran up at me, hugging me tightly.  
"Are you alright?" he gushed, checking me for any sign of harms. "Geez, Mattie. You scared the living day-light out of me."  
"The way you two fuckers are acting, there won't be any living day-light left in you." The Spanish man commented, shooting an angry glare at us. "Do you want to end up like that one?"  
The man quirked his head at Yao's remaining, causing tears to flow up in my eyes again.  
"Ssh." Alfred whispered. "It's alright."  
"Are you not listening to me?" the man yelled. "That guy could have ripped you apart!"  
"Es, watch out!" the other stranger suddenly yelled, as Ivan's sister Natalia (or well, former Natalia) dragged herself out of an alley.  
"Big brother!" she screamed manically, and I shuttered. Even in "death", she was obsessed with her brother.  
"Natalia" lunged at "Es".  
The other stranger picked up his gun, firing two shots at her, only lowering the gun when he was sure she was dead.  
"You're getting unfocused, hermano." The stranger said grimly, directing his attention to Es.  
"I guess I owe you, one." Es growled, looking down the alley to see more zombies coming up at them. "Fuck. What do you say I pay back right away? Toni, what are our odds?"  
"Nothing is impossible." Toni muttered thoughtfully. "But if we're supposed to look after the kids, we might as well shoot ourselves here and now, save ourselves the trouble."  
Es backed a few steps back.  
"I guess that settles that then. How long does it take get to the van?"  
Toni glanced down a sideway road.  
"Ten seconds." He decided, just before an old "hippie" van stopped behind them.  
A redhead boy glared at them from the driver-seat, aiming a gun out the window and shooting the closest zombie.  
"Bastard! I thought I told you to stay out of trouble!"  
"It was Es' fault." Toni growled as he pulled the door open, while shooting another zombie. "He's the one wanting to save them."  
"Well, the idiot was going to die!" Es defended himself, pulling himself up on the van. "Are you two coming or not?"  
Es looked at Alfred and me before grabbing me by the arm and pulling me onto the van, as Toni did the same to Alfred. Es fired one last shot with his gun as Toni shut the door and the redhead hit the break.  
"You're job was simple." The redhead growled at his two companions. "Get in, and get the fucking food. Is that so fucking hard to understand?"  
The van took a sudden turn and I almost fell. Es easily caught me and straightened me up, keeping a hand on my arm just for safety.  
"What was I supposed to do?" he glared at the driver. "I couldn't let them die, now could I?"  
"You've done it before." the redhead retorted.  
"These ones had a chance." Es growled.  
"Tch, you just thought this one was cuter than the rest."  
Es clenched his fist, having forgotten that he was still holding my arm to support me. I couldn't help but winch.  
"Lovi~" Toni said chocked. "Don't say like that!"  
"Why the fucking hell not!?"  
"Esteban is my brother." Toni tried.  
I almost fell over again (it was a good thing that Es/Esteban was still holding on to me), as "Lovi" stopped the car in the middle of the street.  
"DON'T EVER FUCKING SAY THAR WORD AGAIN!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.  
"Lovi, I'm…" Toni started.  
"DON'T TALK TO ME, BASTARD!" Lovi yelled at him. "GET THE FUCKING OUT OF THE CAR! I HOPE YOU FUCKING DIE!"  
Esteban let go of me, and moved up at the driver-seat.  
"Why don't you let me drive for a while?" he tried. "You've had a long day."  
Lovi nodded, and moved to the passenger-seat, trembling, allowing Esteban to take the driver-seat.  
"High quarters?" he asked.  
"What other choice do we have. Boss is going to be pissed that we didn't get the food though."  
Esteban cursed.  
"Too fucking bad for him. You two better grab something for support. It's gonna be a bumpy ride." He growled before hitting the breaks.  
Alfred and I did our best to keep our balance as the van turned right and left with a speed that would probably be illegal in normal cases. Esteban suddenly stopped the car, causing Alfred, me and even Toni to fall over.  
"Wait here." Esteban warned, taking his gun and getting out of the car. "I'll be back in five."  
Esteban closed the door behind him, and then there was silence for a few seconds before Esteban perked his head back in.  
"Lovino? You mind helping me shoot some zombies?"  
Lovino didn't need to be asked twice, and was out of the van within seconds, bringing his gun along with him as he did. Silence fell in the van again, as Alfred and I exchanged looks with each other. I had the feeling that someone should say something, and that we all wanted to, but no one did, and the van remained in an eerie silence. And then the door of the van flew open, causing me to jump in chock, and I was suddenly very glad that we had at least one gun in the van. That passed though, as I realized it was Esteban, arms full with various food.  
"I always do my job!" he grinned and stuffed the food in the van before returning to the driver-seat.  
Lovino was already prompted up in the passenger-seat.  
"Let's go." He ordered. "We're already late."  
Esteban didn't object, and before I could react, we were off down the streets. After a few unpleasant twists and turns, the van stopped, much more calmly this time. From my position in the van, I had yet to see where we'd been taken. The door was forcefully pulled open, revealing a scary looking albino.  
"Toni, you son of a bitch, where the hell have you been?"  
The albino's red eyes, caught on me.  
"You brought guest?" he commented.  
"Stop screwing around, and start helping out with the food instead." Esteban growled, slamming the driver-seat-door behind him. "I've gotta take these two to the boss. Toni… talk to him."  
Esteban cocked his head discreetly at Lovino.  
"You two…" Esteban turned to me and Alfred. "… come with me."  
Alfred and I exchanged looks before hesitantly following Esteban. As we walked, I caught sight of a tall blond working on an abandoned car, and I slowly began to realize where we were.  
"This is a parking-house." I whispered to Alfred.  
"I think dad worked near-by." Alfred whispered back.  
"Esteban!" a voice called from nearby.  
I looked up. A brown-haired woman and a blonde man stared at us. It was the man that had called Esteban's name. The blonde man rose, eyeing us as he got closer.  
"What have we here?" the man asked, cocking a thick eyebrow.  
"Saved their asses, down by Times-Square." Esteban explained. "What, Arthur? Gotten bored of Gilbert already?"  
"There has never been anything between me and Gilbert." Arthur hissed.  
"You better report them to the boss." The girl warned. "Don't worry. He won't kill you."  
The girl winked at Alfred and me.  
"I'm Elizaveta by the way. Good luck, and welcome to the family. Oh, and Esteban, boss is by the shooting rink."  
"Come on!" Esteban rolled his eyes, waving his hands for us to follow.  
Alfred and I followed in silence once again, though I'm pretty sure he as well as me had countless of questions going around in our heads.  
CLINK.  
That was the sound of a bullet suddenly hitting an old wine-bottle.  
CLINK.  
Another bullet hit a beer-can.  
CLINK.  
The third bullet hit the stone-wall. Despite the three warning shots, Esteban still led us closer to the source of the shooting.  
"You're not focusing." A male voice complained. "Try holding it like this instead, and focus on your target."  
"Boss?" Esteban called out.  
"Hold on a little, Lilly. Esteban?"  
A blonde man with a top-military gun in his right hand hurried up at us.  
"You're late. And you're not alone."  
"I couldn't just let them die." Esteban defended himself.  
The blond nodded thoughtfully.  
"Go get some rest for the time being. You're changing shift with Tino in about two hours."  
"Thank you." Esteban nodded shortly before running off down the hall.  
"You two… follow me."  
The blond made a swift motion with the gun and Alfred and I followed him to what appeared to be the shooting-rink. A teenage-girl sat on an old car-seat, practicing her aim with her gun that was surprisingly similar to the one the blond man was carrying. In fact, the girl herself, was surprisingly similar to the man himself.  
"Brother?" she asked surprised. "Who are they?"  
"Esteban found two survivors on the streets. Sit down."  
The blond man gestured to some other car-seats that were thrown to the side, and the three of us sat down, while his sister continued "playing" with her gun.  
"I must say I'm surprised to see Esteban bring someone new back." The blond sighed. "I was beginning to fear there was no one left alive in this city."  
"I'm sorry." Alfred suddenly said. "Who the hell are you? It's like an organized resistance here."  
"My name is Vash. And we are. Are goal is to extinguish the walking dead, until the day they no longer pester the streets of New York. It's a dangerous job, and though we try to save as many as people, we can only take in so many."  
"Why have your head-quarters here?" Alfred asked.  
"It's tactical." Vash replied. "There's only one way in, and that's through the gateway on the bottom floor. We keep a sniper at bay 24/7 in case any zombie comes near."  
"And you are there boss?"  
"Correct. Now, who are you?"  
Vash looked from Alfred to me and back to Alfred.  
"My name is Alfred, and this is my twin-brother, Matthew."  
"W-what will you do to us?" I squeaked out.  
Vash sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  
"I can't throw you out on the streets."  
"So you'll be a part of the crew." Vash' sister concluded. "Are you done now? I won't be the best at shooting on my own."  
"I'll make sure that the two of you get some training before you're sent out on your first mission. For now, report yourselves to Berwald. He is in charge of supplies and such. Tall blond man, you can't miss him. Tell him that I sent you."  
Alfred and I nodded and got up, leaving Vash to deal with his sister. We found the guy, Berwald, where I'd seen him on the way to Vash, still working with the motors of one of the cars.  
"Eh? Berwald?" I asked, but he didn't seem to react.  
"Are you Berwald?" Alfred tried.  
Berwald looked up from his work and nodded shortly at us.  
"Vash sent us." Alfred explained.  
Berwald cocked an eyebrow.  
"He said we should talk to you."  
Berwald nodded.  
"We're new."  
Berwald nodded.  
"Berwald! Stop messing with them!" a small blond called from his position at a window frame. "You'll scare them… oh hold on a second…"  
The small blond rose his gun and fired three times out of the window.  
"Got you." He smirked, before turning back to his former conversation. "You'll scare them off, just like you did with me the first twenty times."  
"W'lc'm. Ah'm B'rw'ld, h'd 'f s'pl's. (Welcome, I'm Berwald, head of supplies)." He said choppingly, making me have to focus hard to collect what he was saying.  
"I'm Alfred, and this is Matthew."  
Berwald only nodded at that.  
"W' w'rk s'mpl'. 'ch d'y, w' s'nd 't p'tr'ls t' ch'ck th' c't' f'r s'rv'v'rs. W' 'ls' 'lw'ys h've a sn'p'r r'dy 't th' w'nd'w. 'r g'l 's t' sl'y z'mb's 'nd s've l'v's."  
"I'm sorry what now?" Alfred asked.  
"Kesekesekese." Someone laughed, and I turned to see the albino grinning at us. "It aint easy, cousin. What Berwald was saying is: Gilbert is the most awesome person ever alive."  
Berwald glared at the albino.  
"Well…" I started thoughtfully. "Considering the high amount of zombies going around, that's not actually that much of an achievement."  
The albino pouted at me for a second, before grinning widely.  
"Hey, I like you kid." He explained, ruffling my hair. "I'm the awesome Gilbert Weilschmidt."  
"Gilbert, you son of a bitch!" Esteban called from afar. "Would you please help out, just this once!"  
Gilbert stuck his tongue out at the glaring man.  
"The awesome Birdie needs me!" he called back.  
_Did he mean me?_ I asked myself.  
"No really, what's Berwald is trying to say is. Our work is pretty simple. Every day, a small group of people goes out in the city, looking for survivals and shooting zombies. Every now and then, Berwald here also sends out a group to try and find new supplies. Food, electronics and such, though he's always there when it comes to the electronics. Meanwhile, as I'm sure unawesome Vash has already told you, we keep a sniper in two different windows with a good view of the entrance. Their job is to shoot any approaching zombies. Our awesome mission is to slay the zombies until they're gone. Oh, and save as many survivors as possibly. Usually, we either let them stay and help out, or we help then out of the city, see as far as we know, the zombies haven't reached outside New York yet. See, this guy, Lukas put a magic ward around New York, keeping the zombies at bay, with the help of Iggy, that's the guy with the eyebrows, and Iggy's brother. Problem this time is, we've had some technical problems lately, and for the time being, we can't get out of the ward either. Iggy is working on that."  
"GILBERT!" Arthur, or Iggy as he apparently was called, yelled. "GET YOUR BLOODY SORRY ASS OVER HERE, YOU WANKER!"  
Gilbert rolled his eyes and trotted over to the van, where Arthur was waiting impatiently, muttering something about unawesomeness. Berwald followed him with his eyes before returning to us.  
"Th' sl'p'ng 'rr'ngem'nts 're s'mple, w' sl'p 'n th' c'rs. Ah'll f'nd s'mewh're f'r y'u tw' t' sl'p. B'f're y' c'n g' 'ts'de th' h'ghq'rt'rs, y' m'st l'rn h'w t' 'se a g'n. V'sh w'll m'ke s're t' g't y' a "m'nt'r" t' t'ch y' 'v'r'th'ng." (The sleeping arrangements are simple, we sleep in the cars. I'll find somewhere for you two to sleep. Before you can go outside the highquarters, you must learn how to use a gun. Vash will make sure to get you a "mentor" to teach you everything.)"  
"Thank you." I said politely after managing to process what he'd said.  
"Y' m'y s't d'wn 'nd r'st n'w. Ah w'll r't'rn t' y' s'n w'th y're sl'p'ng 'rr'ngem'nt."  
Alfred and I nodded slowly, before we walked slowly through the hall, trying to find somewhere we could sit in silence. At long last, we found an empty barrel on the off side and sat down. We sat down silently for a long while, and then the tears began to fall. At first they were barely noticeable, but then I started shaking and Alfred noticed them.  
"Sssh." He whispered to me, holding me close. "We're gonna work things out."  
"He was… and then he just. I thought…" I sobbed, not being able to manage any full sentence, but I didn't need to.  
"It'll be alright. I promise. Look out there." Alfred pointed out a small window, at the clear blue sky outside. "Yao's up there now, with mum, and dad, Logan, Riley, and Allie. Do you remember Allie? We would play on the beach, by her summer-place and she pushed me in once. And as revenge, you pushed her in, but you accidently fell in yourself."  
I released a sad laugh.  
"We were drenching wet, and mum scolded us for it." I laughed sadly. I released a heavy sigh. "Hey, Al? Do you remember when I had cancer?"  
"Geez." Alfred muttered. "I was terrified. I remember I visited you every day while you were at the hospital. I thought for sure I'd lost you forever."  
"I did too for awhile. But then, when I got back, I thought myself the luckiest ever, because I was alive." I heaved another sigh. "Now, I wonder if I wouldn't be better off, had I died back then."  
Alfred hugged me tighter.  
"Maybe for you, but not for me. If you'd died back then, I wouldn't have been able to stay alive. Do you hear me?" Alfred demanded hugging me even closer. "We're not going to die, neither one of us."  
I nuzzled me face into Alfred's shirt with a sigh, closing my eyes as I did.  
"Why don't you sleep for a while." He suggested. "I'll wake you up if anything happens."  
It wasn't until now, I suddenly realized how exhausted I was, and before I knew it, I fell asleep with Alfred holding me tight, quietly humming some old lullaby that our mother used to sing to us when we were children.


	2. Chapter 2

**Let's see, so here's a chapter two if anyone is reading... give it up for more CuCan because someone needs to support them aaaaand some USUK/UKUS XP**

My eyes fluttered open slowly and I yawned as I began to come to life, realizing I'd somehow ended up with my head on Alfred's lap. I blinked a few time, taking in the slow movements around me, before I yawned again and sat up straight, only then realizing that it wasn't Alfred.  
"Oh, you're awake." Esteban said, looking away in embarrassment, most likely from the position we'd been in, just a few seconds ago.  
"W-what… w-who… w-when...?" I stuttered, looking flustered at the taller man.  
"I'm sorry to startle you." He excused himself. "Your brother had to go, and he didn't want to wake you up."  
"Very well, but that doesn't explain why you're here… next to me." I said, accusingly.  
"W-well, it's really simple, really. See, I'm your mentor-thingy, and Arthur and I came to get you two, Arthur is Alfred's mentor. But then we found you asleep, and so your brother asked me to stay with you in case you would wake up and wonder where he was, and well then you just sort of fell over in your sleep, and… well…" Esteban scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't wanna wake you up. You looked like you needed that sleep."  
I was about to say something in reply, but he beat me to it.  
"Look, Matthew, right? I'm sorry I yelled at back there. I just got stressed out, and I shouldn't have been so insensitive and… well… I suppose I'm sorry for being a huge jerk towards you. Alfred told me about your friend, by the way. I'm sorry."  
"Don't apologize." I sighed. "You didn't know."  
"I sort of should have figured it out." Esteban sighed, staring out in the air. "Look around, we've all lost someone, that's why we're here, instead of running away. That's why we're still fighting so hard."  
"Eh?"  
"People die all the time around here, Matthew. The difference between us, and those who leave New York, is that we want revenge. We want to revenge the death of those we love."  
"You too?" I asked sadly.  
"I could easily tell you every story of this group."  
I didn't know what to say to that, so Esteban continued.  
"I might just as well tell you. It'll save you from making Toni's mistakes. Consider this your first lesson, and a chance to learn the crew."  
I only nodded. Esteban turned around lightly, looking for his first "victim".  
"Let's see. You've met Vash. He and Lilly are siblings. No surprise they were the first to arrive here. They lost both their parents. Originally, there were three of them, but Vash's boyfriend, Roderich, fell into Hudson River during one of the missions. We looked for him, but found nothing. You met Arthur, right?"  
"He's the one that talked to us earlier, right? The man with the ey… british accent."  
Esteban laughed. It was a rich laughter, and I liked it.  
"Yes, the man with the eyebrows." He said, before returning to seriousness. "Arthur lost his entire family. Only he and his brother's Scott and Peter survived the first encounter. Peter disappeared one night without signs. No one's seen him since. Scott helped out with the ward, as I'm sure Gilbert's told you. Sadly we lost him a while ago. He sacrificed himself to save Arthur."  
"Is that why you're having problems with the ward?" I asked, receiving a short nod from Esteban, but didn't elaborate it any further.  
"You've met Elizaveta?" he asked though it sounded more as though he was deciding it. "Eliza was living with her friend Sadiq, and his boyfriend, Heracles. Sadiq had also invited his siblings and some friends at the time when the Zombies reached them."  
Esteban fell silent a long moment.  
"Only Elizaveta and Sadiq survived." He continued, pausing another long minute. "Sadiq committed suicide the same night."  
I shuttered.  
"I see you met Gilbert." Esteban continued his voice somewhat grimmer. "Gilbert lost his mum when he was little. His dad was killed in a zombie-attack, leaving him alone with his younger brother, Ludwig. Sadly, they got separated. Gilbert goes out every day, trying desperately to find him. Still no sign. See, unlike most of us, he's not a part of our crew because he wants to kill Zombies, and revenge someone. He just wants to find his brother."  
Esteban left another long silent minute past, before continuing.  
"I'm guessing you've met Berwald."  
I nodded.  
"Well, Berwald is sort of tricky. His parent's died long before the Zombies, and he didn't have any siblings. Instead, he lived with his cousins Gilbert and Ludwig for a long while. Eventually he moved out however, to share an apartment with his friend, Matthias, who was also Gilbert's friend."  
"Matthias didn't make it, did he?" I asked sadly.  
Esteban shook his head.  
"I was there when he died. I've never seen anyone fight as hard as he did, but the amount of zombie's were too great for us. Yet he didn't stop fighting until the end. Somehow, I managed to get out of there. Gilbert has hated me ever since. He hates me for being alive."  
"I'm sorry."  
"It's not important. Matthias also had a boyfriend, Lukas, the third "wizard" so say."  
"Dead?" I asked.  
Esteban nodded.  
"Nobody knows quite how it happened. As far as we know, the magic of the ward hit back on him when we were driving through it. He died with a smile on his face."  
I couldn't help but shutter again at the thought.  
"I suppose you deserve to know about Lovino. Well, Lovino and Antonio has been dating since before the Zombies. Lovino may not show it, but they can be really lovi-dovey if they want to. Either way. Lovino lived with his grandpa and baby brother, Feliciano. One day, before the Zombie's had been clarified, Lovino went to spend the weekend with Antonio. When he returned home, it was all destroyed. Blood plastered on the walls and on the floor. No signs of life."  
Esteban released another deep sigh.  
"Lovino never got over the loss of his brother quite as well as the rest of us. We all miss the one's we lost, but Lovino is different. He's angry at the zombies, yes, for taking him away, and he's angry at everyone else, who still has a brother alive, but most importantly, I think he's angry with himself for not being there. My brother may be one of few things keeping him from dying. Anyway, after that, he went back to our place."  
"So what's your story?" I asked, as the information about Lovino sank in, finding myself surprisingly interested.  
Esteban seemed to be hesitating a bit but he still answered, after a long while.  
"I came from a big family." Esteban started hesitantly. "We were eleven siblings, Antonio being one of them. Let's see, we were four boys and seven girls, though our oldest brother had already moved out by then. So this one day, while Antonio and Lovino was… busy elsewhere, my baby-sister, Isabella, came home crying like the world is about to end, saying that a boy bit her on the play-ground. In any case I would have been there in seconds, but this day I was really irritated so I decided to go to my room instead, while the rest of the family stayed in the living room. A couple of minutes later, I heard my mother scream. I freaked, and didn't really know what to do, but when I heard more screaming, I got really scared, and somehow got myself out of my room to see what was going on. I only just looked down the stairs, from behind the wall, but it was enough to see damage down there."  
"Your sister was… turned?" I asked, though I had a feeling I knew the answer already.  
Esteban nodded slowly, seeming shaken by the memories.  
"I didn't know what to do." He continued. "I was scared to say the least, but at last, I pulled myself, and tried to think anything to do. I ended up in my father's office where I found a shotgun."  
Esteban patted the gun he had hung over his shoulder.  
"By the time I got down to the living-room, five more of my siblings were turned. My parents, and the rest of the siblings were dead. Isabella was dead too, so obviously one of my siblings had tried to stop her."  
Esteban paused for a moment, engraving his fingers into his dark hair, staring out in thin air again.  
"Never in my wildest fantasy did I ever that I would shoot my own siblings…" he mumbled and paused another long minute. "But I did. I killed every single one of them. I took the fucking shotgun, and I shot them. Though I know they were already dead in a way, I'll never be able to forgive myself. Antonio and Lovino returned about an hour later. We've been a team ever since. And then, at last, we found this place and joined."  
I didn't know what to say, and truth to be told I don't think he expected me to either.  
"Then remains your story. I can't seem to put it all together."  
"Well…" I started. "… it was Alfred, me, and a friend of ours, Yao. We left New York to camp in the woods for awhile. See, we made a bet with some guys in our neighborhood, and so we decided to live the in wild over the summer. When we got back… well, this was what we found. People lying dead on the ground, blood, occasional screams. We had no idea what was going on. So Yao said, we could get to his boyfriend, and ask him, since he usually knew most things. We had to leave the car behind on a parking lot, due to the street being ruined. And then we saw him. Yao of course ran up to him, and then… and then he was dead."  
"And that's when we found you." Esteban concluded. "I'm sorry to here."  
"Eh? What about the blond in the window?"  
"Huh? Oh, him. Truth to be told, I don't know his story. Tino is… strange in a way. He's like a second mother to the lot of us." Esteban released a small laugh. "But he never actually spoke of his past or what happened to him. All I know is; he's in a relationship with Berwald. But that's all."'  
"Eh? Weren't you supposed to change shift with Tino?" I asked.  
"I traded with Eliza. She's taking my shift now, and I'll do her shift later tonight. Come on…" Esteban said, getting up. "I'll show you where you'll be sleeping."  
Esteban extended a hand at me and I accepted it before following down the hall again.

Alfred POV  
"Well don't just stand there like a drenched poppy." Arthur complained at me. "That won't work at me. You're gonna to learn how to use a gun, weather you want it or not."  
"I'm not gonna use a gun! Heroes doesn't use guns."  
"Well why don't you tell James Bond that." Arthur rolled.  
"Who?"  
Arthur sent me an ice-cold glare.  
"Wanker." He muttered. "If you want to be a hero, then fine. Be a dear, and save me from you. Get down on all four and give me a hundred."  
I laughed at him.  
"You're a pretty bitter dude. Is it because of those eyebrows of yours?"  
Before I knew it, I was pushed to the ground, with Arthur glowering over me.  
"What. Did you. Just. Say?" he hissed at me. "Perhaps you haven't gotten the complexity of the situation that we all are in. Right outside this house, there are living dead, searching to eat you, and your brother, and any living being they can get the hold of. Look at me very closely, Alfred."  
I looked at him, as he rolled up his shirt, revealing a long line of scars up his arm.  
"These scar represents every family member, friend and ex-boy and girlfriends I've lost due to this madness. Do you see that wall?" Arthur hissed, pointing at a nearby wall that was full of old bullets. "One bullet for every crew-member we've lost. Do you understand how serious this is? If you go out there, not knowing how to shoot every zombie that comes at you, you won't last two days. I repeat to you; Do. You. Understand?"  
I nodded dumbfounded.  
"Then turn around and give me one hundred pushups now!"  
I did as told without objections, feeling his eyes burn into my back. At long last I did my hundredth pushup and changed to a sitting position, waiting for Arthur to start yelling at me again, but he didn't. He just looked at me thoughtfully.  
"Why cutting yourself?" I decided to ask.  
Arthur cocked an eyebrow at the question.  
"It helps." He answered. "It keeps me from going insane, keeps me from thinking about them. The moment we start over thinking things, we start losing our focus. I cannot afford to lose my focus."  
"How come you haven't killed yourself?" I found myself asking, though deep inside I knew how insensitive that sounded.  
Arthur sighed.  
"I don't know if Gilbert told you or not, but originally we were three wizards keeping a ward around New York to keep the Zombies at bay. My brother and I, as well as a guy named Lukas. Now, both of them are dead." Arthur said, pointing at two different scars. "Meaning, I'm the only one that's keeping the zombie's from getting out of New York. So even if I wanted to die, I can't do it, or the world will be doomed."  
"So you disregard your own will to save a bunch of people you haven't met?" I asked, receiving a light nod from Arthur. "Why?"  
Arthur rolled his eyes.  
"My brother died, trying to save my life. I'm not planning on disgracing his memory."  
I stayed silent for awhile before a new, and random, question popped up in my mind as I watched him.  
"How old are you?"  
The question seemed to catch Arthur off guard for a moment. He furrowed his brows and smacked his lips in disapproval.  
"That's a rather rude question." He stated, eyeing me like he'd done earlier when we were going to meet Vash for the first time. "If you must know, I'm 23. And you are obviously not more than 16."  
"I'm 19." I glared at him. "How could you mistake me for sixteen?"  
"Well…" Arthur started bitterly walking around me as he spoke. "By the way you're acting, I would have thought you to be ten, but considering the way you react to this…"  
Arthur suddenly snuck up behind me, blowing cold air on the back of my neck. I sat up straight, as shivers ran up my spine.  
"… I figured you were older."  
"What the hell!?" I yelled at him, quickly up on my feet, glaring at him.  
"Oh, you're up. You might, just as well run two laps then. From here, to there…" Arthur pointed down the hall as he spoke. "to there, and back here. Ready? Set. Go."  
Reluctantly I followed his instructions, unable to picture how the hell this had anything to do with shooting zombie's if that was now what he so dearly wanted me to do. I glanced over at him, seeing him sit down calmly on some old car-seat and… pouring up tee! I had to blink twice to ensure myself that this was what I was actually seeing, but yes. Arthur was pouring up tee in an old cup.  
"Keep running." Arthur ushered me. "I'll be taking my tee-time meanwhile."  
"Tea?" I questioned. "There are zombies outside, zombies! People are dying, and you're drinking tee?"  
"Indeed." Arthur answered calmly, sipping his tee. "Now for your own good, I would suggest you stopped talking. If you lose the right breathing-technique, you'll never be able to gain it back. Either way, who are you to talk? You're the one thinking about sex and what you would like to do with me, during a time like this. People are dying out there, you know. This really isn't the time to be selfish."  
I blushed, looking away to hide it as best as I could. This man was playing with me, I knew he was, but I could do nothing but suffer through. After all, what other choices did I have? After not too long of a time, I finished the second lap, stopping in front of Arthur.  
"I would run faster if I were you." Arthur said calmly, not even looking up at me as he drank his tea. "Remember, you have hypothetical zombie's chasing you."  
"You never said that!"  
"Did I not?" Arthur looked up at me, fake surprise showing on his face. "Oh, how clumsy of me. Either way, you should have figured that out yourself. After all, you're supposed to be out there were the zombies are, one day. Run along now. And remember you've got hypothetical zombies chasing you."  
I suppressed any answer I wanted to give the man and started running, faster this time. Two laps later, I was once again standing in front of Arthur.  
"I wouldn't keep my back so bended." Arthur commented. "Remember, you have a hypothetical gun on your back."  
"You never said that either!"  
"Did I not?" the fake surprise was back on his face. "I'm quite forgetful today. Either way, you should have figured that out yourself. After all, what are you supposed to shoot the hypothetical zombies with in case they are in front of you? Run along now. And remember, you've got hypothetical zombies chasing you, as well as a hypothetical gun on your back."  
I cursed under my breath and started running my fifth lap. At long last I stopped in front of Arthur for the third time.  
"I find it interesting that you keep your hands slacking at your side like that." Arthur, who'd now poured up his third cup of tea, commented thoughtfully. "Remember, you're carrying a hypothetical person in your arms."  
"You never said that!" I said, clenching my teeth.  
"Did I not?" Once again he looked up at me with the usual facial expression. "I must be getting tired. Either way, you should have figured that out yourself. After all, half of our job is to save the life of possible survivors. Run along now. And remember, you've got hypothetical zombies chasing you, as well as a hypothetical gun on your back and a hypothetical human in your arms."  
"How the hell am I supposed to hypothetically carry a human being?"  
Arthur got a surprised look on his face.  
"Interesting thought." He said thoughtfully. "You're quite right. That would be hard."  
I sighed in relief, until Arthur suddenly called:  
"Tino!"  
The blond who'd helped us with Berwald earlier looked up.  
"Yes?" he smiled.  
"Would you mind helping me out?" Arthur asked, sounding rather pleading.  
Tino tilted his head but hurried over to them.  
"What's wrong, Arthur?" he asked, looking like a confused child.  
"Are you done for the day?" Arthur asked him.  
Tino smiled brightly.  
"Sure am! Thought for it was Esteban after me, though, oh well." He shrugged. "Can I help with the training?"  
"In fact you can." Arthur smiled. "Come here."  
Tino bend down, and Arthur whispered something into his ear, smirking lightly at the end. Tino listened thoughtfully before lightning into a bright smile.  
"Sure!" he beamed and went over to me.  
"What?" I asked.  
"In struck me that you indeed can't hypothetically carry a human." Arthur explained. "So you'll have to carry an actual human instead. Tino?"  
Tino nodded, smiling, and practically jumped into my arm.  
"Wow." He commented. "You're much smaller than Berwald. You should work on that."  
"You expect me to run two laps with him in my arms, with my back straight, in the same pace?"  
"No, of course not." Arthur laughed. "Come to think of it, I think you need to run faster. There's life on stake. Run along now. And remember, you've got hypothetical zombies chasing you, as well as a hypothetical gun on your back and a hypothetical… oh my bad… actual human in your arms. Just to make this more believable, let's say it's a fragile poor woman you're carrying."  
I clenched my teeth hard, and fixed my grip on Tino, causing him to giggle hysterically, and then I ran. All the while, around the laps, Tino would scream things like: "Help me, I'm dying!" and "Oh no! The zombie's are coming!" and between all that followed his hysterical giggles, and side comments on how much better Berwald was than me. At long last, I stopped in front of Arthur for, what would hopefully be, the last time, putting the giggling Tino down on the floor.  
"For the next time, I would be a little bit more considerate towards your damsel. She's petrified."  
I looked at Tino, who was giggling so hard he had to put a hand on his stomach.  
"He doesn't look very petrified." I glared at him annoyed.  
"No need to be rude. Well, you may run along now. The lesson is over for the day. I'm exhausted. Tino, be a dear and show him where he's to sleep."  
"Oh, where is that?"  
Arthur gestured for Tino to come closer and whispered something (most likely the answer) in his ear, causing the small blond to giggle again.  
"Very well then." He said between giggles. "Come with me, Alfred."  
I followed Tino, sending one last glare at Arthur. Before I could quite get away from him, Arthur called after me.  
"Oh, and Alfred!"  
I turned annoyed at him.  
"Let me ask you something."  
I didn't answer.  
"If a zombie told you to give it your brain, would you do so?"  
"No." I answered, frowning lightly at him.  
"Well that's a relief. If… let's say… a parot, told you to shoot yourself, would you do so?"  
I frowned at him again. What the hell kind of question was that?  
"No."  
"Interesting. Now, if a complete stranger, who for the record just sexually harassed you, told you to run around a room like an idiot, would you do so?"  
I stared dumbfounded at him, for once, unable to find any sort of answer to that.  
"Good day, Alfred." Arthur smiled before ushering me to leave.  
I shot one last glare at Arthur as I left, seeing him watch me with mild curiousity. I just barely heard him mumble to himself.  
"Interesting indeed."

**So, as I told you, some USUK or UKUS. I personally would prefare is as UKUS but a friend of mine really wants it to be USUK sooooo we'll see. Hope you enjoy 3**


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